Love, Unrequited
by Lionwings
Summary: Red, the newest member of Smash Manor, has just come off of a bus to see all these new people, get two mother figures, and have to room with an elf. What will happen next?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hey. It's Lionwings trying out a new fandom. For now this is going to remain a one shot... Just until I get a review that says otherwise. This is going to be an eventual LinkXPokémon Trainer/Red. I'm not really savvy on what these characters are supposed to act like, but I'm using what I learned from reading other stories with Red and Link. I also decided to make Link speak, even though some prefer him to be silent or mute, but after writing Silence, a Naminé and Sora fanfic, it's a little annoying at this point. If you like Kingdom Hearts you should totally read it. And I'm not just saying that because I want reviews. Cough, cough. Ahem well without further adieu...**

**Disclaimer: Lionwings owns nothing except the bus driver. =)  
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Love, Unrequited

Red was never one to be pushed around. He was never the unpopular one, never the hated one. He was always kind to everyone who would speak to him. He was always peaceful and avoided meaningless battle. He was a Pokémon trainer. He was always traveling, and didn't have many people skills. He did work past these though… He would have to, due to the place he was heading.

Red had been accepted into the Smash Brother's society. It was a high honor, and was considered a blessing upon the people accepted to join. Those chosen especially by Master Hand were sent to Smash Manor. Smash Manor was a place outside of time and space. Its occupants included many beings from many different dimensions. Some of which were complicated, others were simple. Many of the smashers looked like their worlds; some were as complex as a bounty huntress in a cyber-suit. Some were as plain and simple as a flat, black, two-dimensional man.

Red was nervous of what might happen on his first day. He wasn't sure who would be at the mansion, or who would be there to welcome him. He didn't even know who he was rooming with. He grabbed the pamphlet that Master Hand had given him before he accepted the invitation, and read the first paragraph on the front of it aloud.

"Dear New Competitor, I hope that you will accept this invitation to join the Smash Brother's society. I have reviewed your abilities and found you to be more than adequate to join in our battles and activities. You will be driven, from your home, in about five days of your acceptance by bus to the Smash Manor. Once here it will be decided where you will stay and who your guide will be. I hope that you accept the invitation. Gratefully yours, Master Hand."

Red smirked. He had never understood why a gigantic hand with super powers would use his abilities for a fighting tournament. It just wasn't practical. But neither is being a gigantic hand… So it was a bit of a moot point. Red turned his head and looked out the window. Outside was a gigantic meadow filled with knee high grass and wild flowers. At the edge of the field was a deep forest that looked like it ended at the mountain side.

'This sure is an odd place,' Red thought quietly as the bus driver turned down the street.

"Almost there kid," He yelled back to Red. "So you should probably get your bags ready!"

Red nodded and pulled his bag from the rack above his head. It was his normal travelling backpack, red with green straps and white tubing around the edges. It was his favorite bag and his only memento from home… Other than his Pokémon of course.

The bus driver started to slow down as a gigantic mansion began to come into view in the distance. It was a white building, about three stories high, with a red shingled roof and a balcony on every window. The windows were yards away from each other showing that each room was probably extremely large and luxurious, even without being inside them. The grounds surrounding the manor were immaculately kept and had much topiary of the Smash Brothers along with Master Hand, of course. There were Pokémon running around outside of the walls and flying above the manor, making it look like a part of nature instead of a man-made (Hand-made?) building. Outside the front doors, from what Red could see on the bus, were many people standing and waiting for him. He also saw two gigantic floating white gloves waiting among the other figures.

"Here you go, kid." The bus driver called back. "You've been pretty quiet back there. If you're gonna be in this place, you have to know one thing. These people are tough. Not many of them know much about your world, but the best thing to do is what you've done this whole bus ride. Be silent and wait for their reaction of you before you react to them. Some of them are very odd, but don't react to them. It would only make matters worse."

Red nodded and walked towards the door. "Thanks Mr. Bus driver. I'll take that to heart," he smiled whole-heartedly.

The bus driver returned the smile. "No problem kid. I'll be rooting for ya!"

Red walked off the bus and waved as it drove off down the road. He felt the stares of the Smash Brothers behind him, but tried his best to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to see. He had seen some of them in the brochure, but there were only the normal looking ones from what he could tell. Other than those ones, he didn't know what to expect. At least until he turned around.

The first thing he saw was a gigantic turtle with red hair, devilish horns, and a spikey back. Standing next to him was an odd-looking man with green skin and a jewel on the center of his forehead. They both had a dark aura around them that automatically made them evil. Standing beside them were two pink puffballs that Red assumed were Jigglypuffs. One was a bit odd looking for a Jigglypuff, but he didn't think too much about it. Other than those, though, the rest where somewhat normal looking not including the fox, bird, and wolf that were standing on two legs with weapons. There were many humans (and elves) standing and waiting for him to say something. They all expected something to happen, but Red took the Bus Driver's advice and stayed silent.

Finally after a moment of awkward silence, Master Hand spoke. "Welcome, Red. I am happy that you were able to join us in this tournament. These are your competitors. I would try and introduce you to all of them, but as you can see… there are many of them and to introduce them all would just be a waste of time." The hand then turned to the other Smashers standing behind him. "If any of you would like to show Red here around the campus, it would be much appreciated."

There was a pause, and two women in the front stepped forward. One of them wore a bright pink dress and had long golden blond hair that was kept out of her face by a tiara. The other was in a blue, skin tight suit and also had golden hair but it was tied back into a long ponytail. The one in the dress spoke first. "Samus and I will show him around," She stated in a very kind voice.

The other woman, Samus, smiled at Red from across the small gap between the Smashers and him. "Yes. Peach and I will take care of him."

Master Hand waved himself. "It's decided, then. He's your responsibility for now. I'll contact you later when I find a suitable room for him to reside in."

He floated away, and the rest of the group began to disperse. The two women, Peach and Samus, walked over to Red while the other Smashers seemed to look Red over. Almost as if they were expecting something to happen. Red could see a brown haired angel flying around in a lazy circle above him, studying him with sapphire blue eyes. The Jigglypuff-like creature also took an interest and bounded over to the Pokémon Trainer's side. At closer inspection Red could see that it was, indeed, not a Jigglypuff, but a different creature all together. It looked very innocent, and Red couldn't help to give a smile to it.

The creature cocked its head. "Poyo?" It seemed to ask him.

Peach and Samus smiled. Peach tapped the pink puffball on the head and it gave an understanding nod. It ran off back into the mansion; the angel overhead took the advice and followed. Peach turned to Red after she was sure everyone was gone. "Welcome honey. My name is Peach and this is Samus," She gestured to Samus, who gave Red a large smile. "We are going to be your guides for the duration of your stay."

Red was a little confused but smiled at this regardless. "Why would you two volunteer to watch over a newbie like me? You both must have better things to do than to babysit me."

Samus stepped forward and said quite simply, "You seem like you need a mother figure."

Red was shocked at that, more so than he was at their volunteering to help him. "What makes you say that?"

Peach placed a hand on his arm. "You were the only one who didn't say anything before Master Hand gave his speech. Normally we would know more about you than your name by now. Many of the Smashers are curious of what you can do, us included. That _and_ you are one of the youngest people here. You're about the same age as Link, actually."

"For your information, I'm 16!" Red replied loudly. His face held a frown.

Samus punched Peach on the arm. Peach yelped, but understood. "I'm sorry, Red. Peach can be a little blunt at times. We know you're old enough to take care of yourself, but what we're saying is that you may like to have someone like a mother to talk to. We're offering to be those people."

Red understood, well at least a little bit. "Okay, but if I entrust you with anything and someone else says something about it, I will personally come and kill you."

Samus smiled, while Peach looked fearful. "I think I like this kid more than I thought," Samus thought aloud. Peach gave her a hard look, but it melted almost immediately. She stepped forward and grabbed Red's hand, pulling him towards the Manor.

"Well, this is as good a time as any to start your tour. Okay, well, if you didn't already guess, this is the front garden. It's where the Smash Brothers come to hang out, spar, or anything, really. The Pokémon love it out here too."

Red thought for a moment. "Hey, Peach, could I let my Pokémon out? They should get to know this place too, especially because they're going to be living here as well."

Peach and Samus were confused. 'Red has Pokémon?' They both thought simultaneously. Peach nodded absent-mindedly and Red took it as a, "Go ahead."

He threw his three Pokéballs into the air and released the creatures within them. Once the creatures were out, they all looked and study their new surroundings. One was a small blue turtle with a brown and yellow shell. It was the smallest of the three and was shyly sniffing a flower in the garden by the door. Another was an odd greenish blue plant like creature with a pink flower bud on its back. It was rolling in the grass by the topiary of Peach. The last Pokémon was a gigantic orange dragon-looking creature with a long tail that had a flame at the end of it. That Pokémon was flying into the air and gliding around on the wind currents surrounding the manor.

Peach's and Samus's eyes were almost bulging out of their heads when they saw the three new Pokémon standing, rolling, and flying around them. Red looked at them before he realized that he hadn't told them what he was yet. "Did I forget to mention that I'm a Pokémon trainer?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck, sheepishly.

Peach shook her head and seemed to come out of her trance-like state first. Samus was still staring at the Pokémon with surprise. "We didn't expect that. I, personally, thought that you were going to be another psychic or something."

Samus snapped out her trance and turned her head back to Red. "Wait, if you're a Pokémon trainer… then doesn't that mean your Pokémon will fight?"

Red looked a little ashamed as he pulled his hat down over his eyes. "Yeah… Master Hand told me that I will have to stand out of harm's way in order to fight. Only my Pokémon will be doing the fighting."

Peach and Samus looked at each other quickly and then their eyes bore down on Red. Samus stepped forward and stroked the side of Red's face. "You might want to be careful then, Red. Some of the other fighters may see that as a sign of weakness. You may not be as readily accepted here as you might have thought you were. I'm warning you now, don't offend anyone. It might end up badly," Samus said in a motherly way. She still had a concerned look on her face; Peach wore a face that matched it.

"I think I'll be okay," Red replied confidently. "I've dealt with a lot, believe me. So don't worry, I can take care of myself and you two will be helping me. I'll be bound to have some friends in no time too!"

Both of the women nodded. He was correct. He was a strong teen, and he did have them. They wouldn't let anything bad happen to him now that they promised to take care of him. So the women dropped the conversation and started to show Red around the Manor. He had with him only the turtle, which he introduced as Squirtle- the other two had gone off to do their thing. Peach and Samus were concerned, but Red assured them that there was nothing to worry about. They hesitantly accepted his answer and showed him around the large building.

The tour of the Manor included showing Red the cafeteria, the arcade, the assist trophy room, the locker rooms, the media room, and the kitchen. There was one more place they wanted to show Red, though, but unlike how they showed him the other places they decided to make a big deal out of it. So they wrapped Red's eyes so he couldn't see, and lead him there. Once there, they pulled off his blindfold, and his eyes became wider than saucers. He stepped out and found himself in a small area that was used to keep the Pokémon that were used during the brawls. He ran over towards a tree and hit it, causing many Caterpie to fall out of the tree. Red yelped with glee and sat there. The two women walked over to where he was sitting.

"We thought you might like it here," Peach said, giving Red a maternal smile.

"Yeah, I really do. It reminds me of home. I think I can use this as a training spot," Red grinned.

Peach and Samus weren't done with the tour though. Red grudgingly got up from underneath the tree and followed after them. They took him up a long staircase which was right across from the main door in the entrance hall. They ran up the stairs and Red saw two hallways, one going to the left, and the other to the right. Peach and Samus took him to the left and led him all the way down the hall, until they came to a door whose plaque said, "Master Hand."

"If you want to know why we brought you here… It's because we want to get your room assignment. Go on in. I expect he's waiting for you," Peach explained to Red.

Red nodded. He knocked on the door and it flew open. Taking that as a sign to come in, he entered the room. Once inside, the door shut behind him. Master Hand was sitting (floating?) at his desk and motioned with a finger for Red to come forward. Red willingly obliged and walked forward towards the gigantic hand. "So is everything to your liking so far, Red?" The hand asked

"Yes, Master Hand, it is," Red replied politely. "I was told that you were going to give me my rooming assignment?"

The hand nodded as only a hand could. "Yes, I am. I have been looking over these rooms and have found we only have one male room available. Your bunkmate is going to be the swordsman Link. I believe you will like him! He is quite the kind fellow. His, and your room is room number six. You should go and introduce yourself before dinner. You know, get better acquainted with your bunkmate for the duration of your stay."

Red nodded slowly. 'What kind of person is Link going to be? I really hope it isn't that green guy standing next to the giant turtle I saw earlier,' Red thought as Master Hand shepherded Red out of his office.

Peach and Samus were waiting outside the door for Red to return, and as soon as they saw him, they began barraging him with questions about who his bunkmate was. Red sighed and muttered, "Some guy named Link."

Samus smiled when she heard the news; Peach did as well. "Link is a very kind person. We won't have to worry about you now. I thought you were going to have to bunk with Ganondorf or Bowser or someone horrible like that."

Peach nodded in agreement. "But, I think they're bunking together? Whatever. Okay. Before we introduce you, is there anything you feel you need to know about Link?"

Red paused for a moment. 'Is there anything I need to know? I don't think so. If Master Hand described this guy as kind, he must be- even my new "mothers" like him. But wait; what if he is dating someone? Will they do the nasty in the room while I'm sleeping? No, I don't think that would be allowed. So what am I worrying about?' Red thought as he shook his head no as he finally thought about it. So Peach and Samus walked him down the hall. A few of the other Smash Brothers were walking around on the floor and snuck a peek at Red and his Squirtle. Most of them thought it was another Pokémon, but some assumed that Red was a Pokémon trainer, especially the few Pokémon fighters in the tournament. The only Pokémon that didn't seem nervous around Red was Lucario, who just nodded at Red as he walked by.

Peach and Samus stopped in front of room number six and waited as Red caught up to them. Red gave them an odd look as if to say, "Why are we waiting?" Peach just put a finger to her lips and a hand to her ear. He complied and listened silently. "Ganondorf, will you stop complaining? It isn't as though a new fighter is a bad thing. In fact, it may be a good thing! We haven't had a new fighter around here in months! Just think of it as new competition."

Another voice, probably Ganondorf's from Red's opinion, replied harshly, "I will complain all I want to. He doesn't even look like a fighter! He just looks like a useless teenager. If he were a _real_ fighter, he would have introduced himself to us before. He wouldn't have just stood there like a wimp! But, I will digress that not even I know what he can do. I hope you're right, Link," Ganondorf yelled and walked towards the door. Peach made a motion with her hand and Red, Samus, and she hid behind a large trophy case.

The large, green skinned man, Ganondorf, walked out of room number six shortly after the three had hidden themselves. He had an angry expression on his face, and stomped down the hall like a child who didn't get what they want. Red gave Peach and Samus a curious look that was answered with two identical shrugs. They waited another few moments and crept out from behind the trophy case and walked back over to the door for room six.

"Okay Red! Go on in and introduce yourself. We'll see you downstairs for dinner," Samus said with a knowing smile. Red didn't catch the smile but knocked on the door. He stood there quietly, waiting for his new roommate to open the door so he could introduce himself.

A moment later the door opened, and Red didn't expect what he saw. He saw a tan, pointed face, deep sapphire blue eyes, perfect white teeth, and a beautiful smile. Red didn't expect Link to look like that. He actually expected the red-haired swordsman that he saw earlier. Link's eyes dulled a little when he saw Red standing there, but only a little. His face held a questioning look, and also, a small look of concern.

"May I help you?" Link asked Red in a voice that sounded like a bell.

"Ummm… Yeah. I'm Red, and I'm your new roommate," Red admitted quietly.

Link looked genuinely surprised. "Oh, you're the new guy. I thought you were another fan… Awkward. But anyway, I'm Link, if you didn't already know," Link held out his hand and Red took it.

He felt Link's calloused hand and compared it to the feel of his own soft, inexperienced, silky one. Red felt then and there that he didn't really belong with all of these other Smashers. It was evident in the callouses on Link's hand. He was just a Pokémon trainer. Granted, he was the most famous Pokémon trainer in the world, had captured over 300 different Pokémon, and defeated Team Rocket several times, but he had nothing on some of these people.

"Your hands are really soft," Link said nonchalantly. "And if you don't mind me asking, what is it that you do exactly? Your hands are too soft for you to be a swordsman, you don't look like a psychic, and you definitely are not a Pokémon."

Red stared at his feet awkwardly. He remembered what Peach and Samus had said about not being as readily accepted as he thought he might be, but he felt he could trust Link. He didn't know why, especially because he had just met him. He shouldn't trust him, but Link seemed so… realistic and kind. "Well, I'm actually a Pokémon trainer. I won't actually be fighting, but will be commanding my Pokémon from the back," Red admitted.

Link stared at Red for a moment. "Well, can't say I expected that!" Link admitted. "But who am I to judge? So come on in. This is half your room."

Link gestured for Red to enter and he walked in shyly. He was a little fearful after Link's admittance and was unsure of what would happen. These thoughts were drowned out of his head though, when he saw the inside of the room. There were two large king-sized beds on opposite sides of the large studio style room. It was painted two colors on different sides. One side had deep sapphire blue walls and had many crimson colored accessories, and the other side was the exact opposite, crimson walls with sapphire blue accessories.

"Well, I'm already on the blue side… so you can have the red side. Wow. I didn't even try for that pun," Link smiled at his own dumb joke.

Red rolled his eyes, but smiled. He hoped he was going to like this room.

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**Author's note: Yeah again I say sorry if they are a little OOC for anyone's taste. So yeah, if you want this to be longer than a one shot, please slide me a review. I did plan on this to be longer than a one shot so don't be that guy who's like, "I really like the story, but someone else will review on it so I don't have to." I'm going to say right now... DON'T BE THAT GUY! So yeah... Read and Review.  
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	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm sorry for taking so long to update this... I've been a little busy lately. I've had to worry about projects and college and all that jazz, and I'm not even in senior year yet. So yeah. I'm going to try and better myself at updating this. Also I would like to thank all of my reviewers and point out that one of my all time favorite authors, Vulpixi Misa, reviewed this too. I was so excited. I'm always really happy with the amount of reviews just for one chapter. I hope that this chapter is good for all of you, because it sure wasn't easy for me to write... So yeah. Please review and I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If I did, do you think that I would let Red be referred to as "Pokemon Trainer" on the actual game? HELLS TO THE NO!**

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Love, Unrequited Chapter 2

Red rather liked the Smash manor. After about a week he felt rather at ease with the place. It wasn't half as intimidating as he thought it would have been. In fact, many of the smashers seemed to accept him fairly quickly. He was already friends with a small blond boy named Lucas, two mercenaries named Marth and Roy, and the pink blob named Kirby. They all seemed to be very kind and Kirby was even the reigning Champion of the smash tournament. Even though he has made many friends, he wanted to know more about his mysterious roommate, Link. The only things Red knew about Link were that he has been in the tournament since the first year it started, that he alphabetized his hats by day, and that he had, at one point, dated a woman named Zelda (or maybe he was still dating her.) Other than that, Red didn't know anything about the green-tunic wearing swordsman.

He decided to try to not act eager though. Eagerness could be seen as creepiness. It was a well-known fact that Red had been taught by his new "Mothers." Peach and Samus would try to give him romantic advice about this and that, but Red never listened because he wasn't sure what romance was yet. He might be a teenager, but he didn't need or want to think about a relationship. Especially because he just showed up at the tournament. He still had to prove himself to the other smashers before he could try and get anywhere with a relationship. Other than that, his "Mothers" also gave him advice about talking to Link. Red didn't want to bother the other green tunic wearing man. He just wanted to not be totally unacquainted with his roommate.

Everything he heard about Link though, was really good. It seemed that Link was the altogether good guy. There weren't many flaws except his certain lack of perceptiveness and bluntness when it came to manners of the heart. In other words, he was never aware of when someone likes him. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed apparently. No one really seemed to care though, he always was highly ranked in the competition and that was all people cared about. Except Kirby, even though he always seemed to win. Go figure.

Red woke up across the room from Link thinking about his first match. It was going to be well attended because everyone wanted to see what Red could do. It only bothered him a little. He was unsure about what the other smashers would think about him. Would they think he is useless because he hides behind his Pokémon or would they think he is a great strategist? Red couldn't fathom what the outcome would be. The situation was apparently worse than Red thought originally because he would be going up against some person named Snake for his first smash. Red didn't know what the problem was; the worst thing that could happen is that he could lose.

Everyone else, though, seemed to worry about it more than he was. Well, at least Peach and Samus were worrying about it. The two mother figures actually came up to Red and told him to try and get out of the match, or to at least change up his opponent. Red refused though. "What would everyone think of me if I just gave up before I even started?" He asked them in all seriousness. "I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if I backed out now."

They just shook their heads and walked away. Red could not understand for the life of him why everyone was worried about this upcoming match. Even Link had come up to him and warned him about going against Snake. "I know we don't know each other very well, but take my advice. Don't battle Snake. It'll just end up badly for you, even if you do win."

Red cocked his head to the side, "What do you mean by that?"

Link just shook his head and walked away leaving Red confused and sitting alone in their shared bedroom. Red scratched his head and returned to polishing his pokéballs. He finished and haphazardly tossed them back onto his bed. He lied down and stared at the white ceiling thinking about everyone's warnings. "Why would they tell me to drop out of the damn match? I mean, Snake isn't that intimidating. He doesn't even seem that bad a guy," Red drawled absentmindedly as he remembered his first encounter with the odd spy.

He was sitting at his lunch table with Peach and Samus, waiting for one of them to shut up long enough for him to ask a question. He gave up after a few minutes and got up to go get a cup of water from the kitchen. He walked over to the door and slipped on the water that coated the floor (courtesy of Jigglypuff's temper tantrum about pie). Red braced himself for a landing on the floor but found it never happened, instead finding himself being propped up by an oddly placed cardboard box. When he got up from atop the box a man in a full body suit came out of the shadows and nodded at him. "See you at the match," was all the man said as he walked away from Red.

Red shook his head at the memory. People were just being overprotective in his opinion. It wasn't as if he couldn't handle himself. It was a little disappointing to see people think so little of his battling skills. He did beat the Champion in Four Pokémon Leagues along with the bosses of Team Rocket, Galactic, Magma, and Aqua. In other words, he was not a wimp in any sense of the word. He looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was just about time for his match. He pulled on his Belt and walked out of the room. The hallway was filled with people waiting to see him walk down to his match. It was a little weird actually, because all of them were staring at him as he made his way to the transport room at the end of the hall. Kirby was waiting for him at the teleporter to help him with the odd control panel.

"Poyo poy?" Kirby seemed to ask after he showed Red what to do.

"I think so Kirby," Red answered hoping Kirby asked him if he was ready.

Kirby nodded his head and pressed the red button on the control panel. Red braced himself but didn't feel anything as a beam of white light surrounded him. He saw the room he was standing in to be spinning around and closed his eyes so he wouldn't get dizzy from the sight. He then saw the room transform before him into a large platform that was black with purple lights situated into small strips on the platform. He looked out into the space beyond the platform and saw only a color-changing nothingness. His head felt like it was spinning and he heard a loud voice call out, "Player 1: Pokémon Trainer!"

He looked around and saw that he was outside of the fight zone. There was a small barrier between him and the actual stage. He grabbed the first pokéball on his belt and threw it yelling, "Go Squirtle!"

Squirtle appeared and waited as the other challenger appeared on the stage. The same voice yelled, "Player 2: Snake!" Snake looked over at the Squirtle facing him and turned to Red. He shook his head and tsked.

"Not fair to hide behind Pokémon."

But that was all he was allowed to say before the loud voice once again called out. This time it said, "Three stock battle, no items. Begin!"

Red barely had time to think before Snake threw himself towards Squirtle. Red called and told Squirtle to use Withdraw, which successfully allowed Squirtle to slip underneath Snake and over to the other side. Snake turned around quickly and threw a grenade at Squirtle, which connected and sent Squirtle across the board.

Squirtle then used waterfall to get back onto the board, but Snake was waiting for that. He sent a missile towards Squirtle and Squirtle went flying across the screen again. This time though he flew far and a flash of light flashed across the board. Red then pulled out another pokéball and threw it, "Go Ivysaur!"

The odd leaf-like Pokémon appeared and stared at Snake. "Ivysaur use Vine Whip!" Red yelled and Ivysaur complied sending out a whip at Snake. It connected and Snake stumbled back. Snake jumped up above Ivysaur and tried to aim a punch right on Ivysaur's flower. But Ivysaur then used Bullet seed to send Snake flying far above the platform. Another flash of light went off and Snake appeared on a small floating device with a clearly ticked off face. He jumped down and glared at Ivysaur.

"Ivysaur, come back," Red held up the pokéball and returned Ivysaur into it. "Go Charizard!"

The large Dragon-like Pokémon appeared and roared right into Snake's face, which caused the other fighter to become even angrier. "You want to go you over-sized Lizard? Well let's go!" Snake yelled as he pulled out another hand grenade.

Charizard gave Snake an uninterested look and used flamethrower on him, effectively blowing up his hand grenade and blowing Snake up. Snake got up and gave a cold look to Red who shrugged. It wasn't as if Red had meant for that to happen. Charizard was just like that. Snake shot a missile at Charizard who flew up into the air and dodged the missile. Snake ran over to Charizard and threw a punch. Charizard took the punch and flinched. He then walked back over to Snake and pulled out a random boulder and preformed Rock Smash. Snake was sent flying off of the stage and out into the endless darkness.

A loud voice boomed, "Player Two: Defeated. Today's winner is Pokémon Trainer!"

Red was then enveloped in another white light and felt that same dizzy feeling as he was whipped from the stage back to the teleporter room. Samus and Peach were standing right at the edge of the teleporter machine and grabbed Red into a hug that almost broke him in half.

"We thought we were going to have to comfort you for a moment there. I mean your first Pokémon went pretty quickly-"Samus stated.

"-But we knew you were going to win," Peach finished for her smiling in all of her pink glory. "We also saw Link cheering for you in the Media room, and Kirby wouldn't leave this room until you came back."

Red looked down at the little pink puffball who was standing next to his feet. He picked up Kirby and gave him a hug. Kirby was freaking out by the sudden hug and started waving his arms frantically. Red put him back down and Kirby looked to be a shade darker than before, most likely from all of the blood rushing to his head. "Sorry Kirby," Red apologized, patting the little puffball on the head.

"Poyo poy poy," Kirby replied nodding his head slightly.

"Thank you Kirby," Red smiled at the puffball and walked out of the room with Peach, Samus and Kirby right behind him. He walked towards his room at the end of the hall and saw the many looks that the other smashers gave him. They were all different. Some were encouraging, others were fearful, and some even bordered spiteful, but Red didn't care and kept up the walk to his room. Samus and Peach stopped halfway and gave Red a quick goodbye before walking into their room and giggling to themselves. Kirby walked with Red to his room before, like Peach and Samus, Poyoing out a goodbye and walking back to his room one door down from Red's.

Red opened the door and saw Link organizing his hats again. Red shrugged and hopped onto his bed. He closed his eyes and attempted to sleep before Link poked him in the forehead. Red groaned and turned to the other side. Link again poked him in the head.

"Is there a reason for you to poke me in the head or are you just trying to annoy me-," Red grumbled into the pillow. "-Because I don't take well to people annoying me."

"When do I ever have nothing to say?" He asked confidently, as though he knew that he always won arguments.

"Never," Red admitted weakly.

"Good, now I just wanted to say that you did a good job today. I know how hard your first brawl can be. Hell, I even lost mine. But you did great. Just a warning though, Snake likes to get revenge on those who beat him. I'm going to tell you right now that if you see a cardboard box, do not open it, under any circumstances. Okay?"

"Okay…" Red answered clearly confused. "Oh, yeah. Thanks for cheering for me today Link, I really appreciate it."

Link turned around really quickly to hide the blush on his face. "Oh, so you heard about that. Heh, well… Why wouldn't I? I mean you are my friend."

"Really? We're friends?" Red asked excitedly.

Link looked at Red like he was on something, "Yeah we're friends."

Red smiled sincerely at Link. "I never thought I would be friends with you. I watched the tournament a couple years ago and I always thought that being friends with you would be one of the best things to happen to me. It's like a dream come true."

Link blushed again and turned his face again to hide it from Red. "That's… really cool," Link admitted making sure to not turn towards Red when he spoke.

Red looked at Link. "Are you okay Link? You're beet red. Do you want me to get you some water?"

Link jumped and yelped. "Uh, sure can you? I would really appreciate it."

Red pushed himself off of the bed and walked towards the door. He looked back to Link one more time to see him lying face down on the bed. "Okay, I'll be back in a minute."

Link nodded into the pillow and waited to hear the soft click of the closed door before he lifted his head. He looked around the room quickly and went over to the wall next to his bedside table. He knocked once and waited for a reaction. A small knock was returned and he pressed a small button underneath his table. After he pressed the button a muted click sounded and a square passageway appeared. Sitting in the small crevice was a regal looking woman in a long purple dress and a crown. She had brown hair and sharp blue eyes. Those exact blue eyes were staring at Link with a hint of amusement, while Link's eyes were staring back with a look of embarrassment.

"So, what do you think it means? I keep getting this way around him and I don't know what the cause is," Link told the figure. "Do you know anything about this Zelda?"

Zelda looked at Link with an even amused look in her eyes. "How could you _not_ know anything about this Link? The answer to this is so simple that it is almost an insult to my intelligence to ask me that question. Okay, let's add two and two now. You said you are always blushing whenever he talks to you, right?" Link nodded. "Okay, now you also said that you keep having dreams with you and him holding hands and walking together, right?" Link nodded again. "You also said that you keep getting a feeling in your heart every time you look at him." Link nodded again with an exasperated look on his face.

"So, do you know what this is? I can't deal with this… feeling. I know it's good but I want to name it! Please Zelda, tell me!" Link pleaded to her.

Zelda rolled her eyes and glared at the sky. "Nice job with this one Farore, I owe you one. Okay Link, I'll tell you. It's so simple. You're in-"She started before the door to the room opened.

Red stood there with his eyes wide open. In his hand was a glass of water and he nonchalantly looked around the room to try and ease the pressure. "I'm sorry; I didn't know someone was in here. I should have knocked. I apologize." Red turned and walked out of the room quickly, leaving Link simply mortified by his sudden appearance.

Link stared at Zelda who smiled mysteriously, making Link glare at her. He plopped onto his bed and groaned into his pillow. That sure was going to be hard to explain.

Red walked down the hallway with a splattering of red across his face. He was embarrassed. It was a little humiliating to walk in on a couple, right while they were talking about something that was obviously private. Red could tell it was private by the mortified look on Link's face. It was a terrible image. Link look almost devastated. If any one thing good came out of this, it was that Red knew that Link and Zelda was a couple.

"I need to talk to Samus and Peach," Red decided quickly as he walked down the hall. "They might know more about Link and Zelda. I need to know what was going on."

He ran down the hall, ignoring Pikachu and Jigglypuff as they both cringed away from him. Lucario just stared at Red as he neared Peach and Samus's room. Lucario didn't really want to be there, but Peach and Samus made very specific instructions and he was just a sucker for a good love story. Red stopped in front of Lucario and gave the Anubis Pokémon a good once over. Lucario usually avoided Red like the plague. It was in his nature to not be trusting of people, especially pokémon trainers.

"Hello Lucario," Red greeted pleasantly. "What's up? Is something wrong with Peach and Samus?"

Lucario stood there, as stoic as ever, giving Red a pleasantly warm aura to help with the "Plan." Red was looking confused and Lucario used it to his advantage. He delved deep inside of Red's aura (as Lucario are known well for doing) and looked around for the emotion that Peach and Samus wanted to know about. It wasn't an exceedingly kind thing to do, even if it was for the right reasons, but Lucario was always looking for a good love story to delve into. Once he found what he was looking for, Lucario walked away with a smirk on his face. Red was feeling a little weak at the knees and stared down at the blue pokémon.

"Don't worry Red," Lucario called back to the still slightly dazed Pokémon Trainer. "You'll feel better in a few minutes."

Once the Anubis pokémon was gone, Red whispered, "What the hell was that about?"

"Red, what have we told you about swearing? I thought you would have learned a lesson from the last time," Peach scolded as she walked from her room. "I mean, really. It isn't as if it is necessary to swear. Personally, I like using words that sound like swear words. Fudge for example, is a great way to avoid using the F-word."

Samus walked out shaking her head slightly. "Peach, stop being a swear Nazi. Hell is not a bad word. I mean, seriously. It's a place."

Peach tilted her head and pondered what the other blond had said but then waved her hand and dismissed the thought. She turned to Red and gave him a knowing smile. "So what's going on with Link? I believe that's where we sent you after your match."

Red blushed and shook his head furiously. "I-I don't want to t-talk about it," He replied, stuttering with embarrassment.

Samus gave Peach a confused look. The look said, "Do you have any idea what happened?"

Peach gave her a look that replied, "None whatsoever."

They gave Red a pat on the back and brought him into their room to have some tea. Unsurprisingly, Marth and Roy were sitting at the table. Marth was drinking a cup of tea while Roy was bouncing his leg impatiently. The red haired swordsman glanced at Red and smirked before giving Marth a nudge. The blue haired swordsman gave Roy a glare but his gazed softened a bit as he saw Red staring at them.

"Hello Red," Marth smiled offering Red a hand. "It is nice to see you again."

Red took his hand and gave him a nice handshake. Roy was glaring at Red, most likely for prolonged contact with Marth. Red rolled his eyes and held out his hand for Roy to shake. Roy, however, stood up and gave Red a gigantic bear-hug.

"U-u-uh Roy- can't- breathe," Red gasped as the red haired swordsman squeezed the life out of him.

Marth rolled his eyes. "Roy, it was a handshake, not a proclamation of his undying love. Let Red go."

Roy dropped Red onto the floor and gazed over to his blue haired companion. He smiled seductively and winked. "Well, if he wanted to, we could always include him."

Marth slapped his hand to his forehead. "Roy, you are an idiot. I'm not sure if Red rolls that way."

Red's face was bright red while the two swordsmen were talking. He looked over at the door and saw that Peach and Samus had left to go somewhere. He bit his lip and walked to the door. He tried to turn the handle but found that it was, of course, locked from the outside. 'Just my luck,' Red thought. 'I get stuck with the hard head and the ice queen.'

"Is there something you want or anything? I mean the door is locked from the outside," Red said attempting to get the swordsmen's attention. "And Peach and Samus usually only lock me in a room with random people if I need to learn something, so what's my lesson this time?"

"Wow, isn't someone introspective today? Well, today we're supposed to teach you about the one thing teenagers cannot grasp for the life of themselves. We're going to teach you about, Love," Marth pulled out a small easel with a gigantic pad of paper on it. "Love is the feeling that you get when you're with a 'special someone' and it usually comes after knowing someone for a time. Although in some cases it can happen very quickly. The quick cases are also known as crushes. Now, crushes can sometimes be hazardous, but only if you know absolutely nothing about the other person. Like, for example, you and Link. Some might argue that neither of you know anything about the other, where the actual case is that you know enough to be able to feel attracted to each other."

"Uh- I don't think that Link and I-," Red began blushing profusely.

"Red, it was hypothetical," Roy replied bluntly with a smirk gracing his features. This kid was just too much fun to mess with.

"Anyways," Marth broke in to continue the lesson. "Love is a very complicated emotion and it has multiple warning signs that can help someone find if they are 'in love' or not. The most common is a feeling deep inside, usually feeling as though it is in the heart or the gut, that warms your entire body. Another telltale sign is that when you look at them you feel like you can't stop staring, it usually happens when you aren't thinking about it and you realize only when someone else points it out to you. The most important sign is when you get that feeling that you couldn't stand if the other person either was away from you or if the other person hated you. You'd feel like nothing else would matter if they weren't beside you and would most likely cry if you ever upset them."

Red looked down at the table. He didn't know what to say. What do people say after a deep conversation about Love and all the aches it causes? He didn't have time to ponder it before Roy smacked him on the back again and turned to leave with Marth on his arm. "Well, our job is done for now. I hope we helped," he said cheerfully and walked out of the room, Marth following (or more like being dragged) behind.

Red stared at the door for a moment before thinking, 'People in this manor are really weird.'

He stood up from his seat and walked to the door ready to leave before Peach and Samus walked back in and pushed him back down into his seat.

"So," Peach began conversationally. "How do you feel about that little lesson?"

"Uh… It was very… educational?" Red replied confused at the situation. "What does it have to do with me, exactly?"

Samus shook her head in a maternal way before saying, "Everything. Now to further your education you are going to spend the whole night here watching Romance movies with Peach and I!"

Peach looked ecstatic when she yelled out, "Yeah and the first one we're going to watch is The Notebook!"

Red stared at the floor, silently pleading with it to swallow him whole and let him enjoy a hell that wasn't quite so romantic. 'I think I'm going to be absolutely sick.'

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**A/N: So yeah. Idk why I used The Notebook. I just thought it fit with something Peach would like to watch. Also, Samus, as I just now realized, is really OOC in this. Unless she finally settled down and decided to act maternally... Nope. I think she just likes being devious... And... I'm rambling. So yeah Review Please or else the Evil Monkey in my Closet won't go to rehab for doing all of those drugs. Please, your review help keep poor Fernando off of the streets and out of the influence of drugs.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Well, it's been a long time coming, and I highly doubt that anyone who actually reads this story goes onto my profile to check out my work in progress section, but I do want you to know that I'm sincerely sorry for taking so long to actually type this out. I originally had an entirely different goal for this chapter, but then my flashdrive, Franklin III, was stolen and I lost all 3,000 words of the original copy. Then Senior year happened and the first semester of college... But anyways, I apologize again, and hope that you're happy with having an update. I would like to say that this chapter probably sucks, but that is only because I haven't written anything somewhat humorous (which I believe the other chapters achieve) in a long time and I think I've lost my touch. **

**Anyways, please read and review and know that I actually have a plan for this story. It's going to be a 4-shot and will include a few other pairings... well mostly mentioned and implied pairings. But I'll post those at the end of the chapter for anyone who actually cares. But now it's time for our featured presentation.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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Love, Unrequited Chapter 3

Red clawed his way from the room seven hours later, tears streaming down his face. He was forced to sit through seven hours of romantic films and romantic comedies, and he wasn't sure if what was left of his masculinity could take another hit like that. He brooded down the hallway with Peach and Samus still cooing at the television, not noticing that he left. He knew that he really didn't have much time (maybe an hour or so) until they realized that he left, so he planned on using the time he had wisely. It only took him a few minutes to reach Pit's room and as soon as he got to the door he barged in and closed the door behind him.

"Pit, I need a place to hide for a while," Red called to his angelic friend. "So if you need me, I'll probably be in the closet."

Pit made a non-committal sound from his bed and Red took it as an "A-Okay." Moments later Red was in the most comfortable closet in the manor thinking about what had just happened within the last two weeks of his stay at the Smash Manor. It had been a really weird two weeks that was for sure.

"So what was so bad that you had to hide in my closet? I mean, I would probably hide in the closet if I just won a match against Snake, but don't think that you can hide for long," Pit warned from the other side of the door.

"It isn't because of that. Peach and Samus have been trying to teach me about love by making me watch cheesy romance movies," Red replied pounding his head against the wall, trying to remove the seven hours of useless lessons. "And why do you all keep saying Snake is going to come after me?"

Pit shrugged on the other side of the door and replied, "Because he goes after everyone who beats him. If you're really lucky someone else will beat him soon and he'll forget about you, as for the romance movies, that really sucks dude. Did they make you watch the one about the guy and girl who sent letters to each other across time? I really hate that one. It doesn't make sense."

"I know right? None of them make sense!"

Red was really happy to have someone who was (ironically) down to earth to be able to talk to. Pit had been his first friend, other than Peach and Samus, that he had made in the Smash Manor. Their initial meeting was in the cafeteria right after Red had dropped off his things in his room on the first day. Link had shown him the way to the food before going to sit with Marth, Roy and Zelda. Red had remembered staring after him like a lost puppy. He had looked around, trying to find any sort of familiar face (i.e. Peach or Samus) when someone had bumped into him. Red shrunk into himself and slowly turned around to see whose way he had gotten into. He was met with a pair of shining aquamarine eyes and a shock of brown hair. The most intriguing thing though, was the white wings that sprouted from the other boy's back.

Red blinked twice and gaped at the angel standing in front of him. The angel just grinned. "Hello, the name's Pit. Nice to meet cha'! You must be the new guy."

Red blinked again before pulling himself together and sticking out his hand for a handshake. "It's nice to meet you too Pit. My name is Red."

Pit smiled again and grabbed Red's hand. "We're going to be good friends Red. Let me show you around the cafeteria a bit."

After that day, Pit had devoted himself to being Red's best friend and had helped him many times, especially when Peach and Samus were on the prowl to force Red to do something.

"Hey, Red are you listening?" Pit asked.

"Uh, what? I wasn't paying attention," Red replied, realizing he had been having a flashback.

Pit sighed. "I was just saying that I was going to go downstairs and get ready for my brawl. You can stay in there for as long as you want though."

Red nodded and smiled. "Thanks Pit, you're a great friend."

Pit smiled as he left the room leaving Red sitting alone in the closet of someone else's room. It wasn't the first time that it happened, and Red was sure that it would happen again. It was usually because of Peach and Samus that he had to hide away from the rest of the house. This time, however, almost seemed different. It felt like everyone knew something that he was being purposefully left out of, and it made him feel slightly uncomfortable. He wondered what had everyone on his case, and why Peach and Samus wanted him to learn about love. Was it because of Link? Red almost blushed just because of the stray thought. He was really wrapped up about that Zelda in the room thing, wasn't he?

"But who could I talk about it to?" He asked himself, while mentally going through his choices. "Peach and Samus are still watching romance movies, so they're going to be busy for another few hours. Pit just went to brawl someone. Link is a part of the problem and it'd be completely stupid of me to ask him. So who is left?"

Truthfully, not many people in the manor had taken Red very seriously since he had joined the Smash Brothers. His handful of friends had all closed in on him and before he knew it, he was in a closely knit clique. That was not to say that the other people didn't have other friends, but they seemed to all hang out together more often than they did with their other friends. He was cordial with a lot of them, but he knew he wasn't close enough to them to be able to ask about something of this magnitude. So, who did that leave for him to talk to?

"I guess..." Red gulped, "I could always talk to Zelda about it."

Red thought about it a moment. Who better to ask than the person the question was for? Sure, it could possibly be a suicide mission, but what else could he do?

"I guess it's my only choice," Red spoke aloud, trying his best to not start shaking in anticipation.

He stood up from his safe spot in the closet and hesitated a moment before walking out of Pit's room and into the empty hallway. Everyone must have been watching the brawl, but Red knew that Zelda would be in her room, probably reading some gigantic tomb or practicing her ninja skills. He moved quickly but quietly towards Zelda's room, making sure to tip-toe past Peach and Samus's room knowing that Dear John had another thirty minutes left and that they wouldn't leave their room until it was over. Zelda's room was located at the end of the hall opposite Pit's, so he had to go by all of the other Smasher's rooms and Master Hand's office in order to reach it. It was a risky business for someone who was only liked and tolerated by three-quarters of the Smash Brothers. He did eventually reach the door and stood in front of it for a moment, trying to figure out what he was going to say.

He didn't really have much of a chance though, because a moment after he reached the door, it opened by itself and Zelda called out for him to enter. He had jumped almost a foot into the air, and was sure that he heard Zelda and someone else chuckling softly. He took a deep breath before slowly making his way into the room. He saw, once he was all the way in, that Zelda was sitting at a small table with chairs drinking tea with Prince Marth of all people. They had both turned to look at him before smiling.

"Hello Red, would you care to join us for tea?" Zelda asked politely as she poured another cup for herself. "We were just discussing Pit's brawl with Yoshi."

"Um, okay I guess," Red responded, sitting in the seat that Zelda had offered. Zelda smiled and poured him a cup of tea. "Thank you."

"It's no problem. Would you like cream and sugar?" She asked.

"I actually prefer honey and lemon. If you have any that is," Red added quickly, hoping that he didn't offend her.

Zelda smiled and added honey and lemon to the cup of tea before passing it to him. He took a deep whiff of the tea and took a small sip instantly calming his racing heart slightly.

"Anyway, as I was saying, I think that Yoshi is going to win this brawl. He has much more experience under his belt, and his Yoshi bomb is some force to be reckoned with," Marth said and taking a sip of his tea.

"I, respectfully, disagree. Yoshi may have more experience, but Pit is much harder to get off the board. Yoshi has a much lighter frame and his jump isn't nearly on par with Pit's. He does have that dreadful move set as well, and we all know that as soon as he runs out of jumps he'll fall straight off the board," Zelda retorted calmly.

Red remained quiet throughout the rest of their debate, they had both prepared premises and conclusions that were backed up by fact and he felt that it wouldn't be right of him to interrupt. Especially because they both only had a certain amount of predetermined time to present their case and he didn't want to disrupt that. After about ten minutes of debating Marth eventually turned to him and asked him for his opinion. Zelda voiced her agreement and wanted to know who Red thought was going to win.

"Well, Pit's my best friend so I think I'm obliged to think that he's going to win. Oh, and Yoshi likes doing his Egg Roll and falls off the map a lot because of it," Red said scratching his head timidly.

Zelda's smile widened. "Ha, Red agrees with me! See Marth, your little plan backfired."

Marth's face turned pink and he quickly excused himself from the room so no one could see his anger. Samus and Peach used to tell Red that it meant he was going to throw a hissy fit and he didn't want anyone to see how immature he could be. Zelda laughed after he left and called, "I'll see you at Dinner Marth!"

The room was silent for a few minutes after that. Red felt uncomfortable and Zelda was sipping her tear and looked as though she was gathering her thoughts. Red took the silent opportunity to look down at his lap and fiddle with his fingers. What was he supposed to say? Should he be direct and just ask the question, or try to find out indirectly with a series of hypothetical situations and see if she would say anything off the cuff?

"So, Red, is there anything that you want to ask me? It is highly unusual for you to visit me," Zelda asked, sipping on her tea. "And by the way that you're twiddling your fingers it seems as though it is important."

Red flushed from the analysis. "You're very… observant, aren't you?"

"Yes, it's one of the curses of being the chosen one of Nayru. Just like Link is rather hard-headed because of Farore and Ganondorf is very temperamental because of Din," Zelda admitted.

"I did notice that," Red noted quietly. "But yes, I do have a question for you. It's about that thing that happened earlier."

"Oh, you mean when I was in the room with Link? Or do you mean when I turned into Sheik and put laxatives in Roy's cereal?" Zelda asked, smiling mischievously.

"Wait, what? Um, the first one," Red smiled widely thinking about Zelda's prank on the hot-headed swordsman, but it was wiped from his face as soon as he remembered what she had asked.

"What about it?"

Red paused. What about it did he want to know? Did he really want to ask if they were dating? It seemed kind of personal and it wasn't really his business anyway. So, he decided to do the only thing that could possibly get him out of the hole that he had dug for himself. He started at his lap and twiddled his thumbs.

Zelda sighed. "Red, I know you have something to ask me. You might as well come right out and ask it, or will you make me have to say it?" Red was silent. "Okay, I guess that you're almost as thick as Link. I am not going out with him."

Red blinked in confusion and looked up to the Princess, who was sipping on her tea as though she had just commented on the weather. "What?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper.

"I am not going out with Link. He's available. You can have him. Must I spell it out for you?" Zelda listed with mock annoyance in her voice. "It's pretty obvious Red, stop acting dumb, we both know that you're smarter than most of the smashers in this tournament."

"You're right," Red admitted, still in slight shock.

"Of course I am, now you should probably go before Peach and Samus finish their marathon. You have about ten minutes before Dear John is over."

Red jumped up from his seat in fright and made his way to the door. He turned to bow to Zelda, as red as a tomato, and closed the door behind her. Once he was gone, she smiled and reached under the table to pick up an old walkie-talkie that had been taped underneath. She pressed the button and announced to the other side, "Red's been reassured. Operation search and destroy is ready for initiation. Wait five minutes then you can go."

On the other end of the line, Peach and Samus started giggling and responded to Zelda with an affirmative. They had to go and find a Hyrulian. After the five minutes were over, Peach and Samus left their room and traveled down the still deserted hallway, only making one stop at Kirby's room to recruit Kirby and Lucario in their mission. The group of four conferred with each other over what kind of approach they would take in order to keep the situation from escalating, not that any of them really expected it to. After a moment the group continued on their way towards Red and Link's room and paused in front of the door before Peach took out her spare key and opened the door. They were greeted with the sight of Link lying on his bed reading a big book, his Master Sword lying on the ground next to the bed.

"Hey Red, is that you?" Link asked, not looking away from his book. "I just wanted to apologize for earlier."

Peach giggled and said, "We're not Red, but we'd still like to talk to you if that's okay."

Link quickly sat upright and looked at the group of people who entered his room. "Hey guys, what do you need?" He asked hesitantly.

"Poyo poy yo!" Kirby replied happily but unhelpfully.

Everyone stared at him for a moment before Samus broke the momentary silence. "We need to talk to you about someone that I'm sure we're all familiar with, and someone that we," She paused to gesture at the people standing around her, "are very concerned about."

"Of course by that she means that we need to talk to you about Red," Peach added helpfully.

Link blushed to the tip of ears and nodded slowly. "Wh-what about Red? He's a great guy and you know, a good friend and all. Why would you be concerned? Wait, is Ganondorf trying to bully him again? I swear to the Three that I will find that man and rip him limb from limb again! Not even Din will be able to resurrect him when I'm done."

Peach and Lucario shared a knowing look while the Hyrulian raged around the room, looking for his supplies. Samus and Kirby were just sort of confused. "Uh, Link… What are you doing?" Samus asked.

"Getting my supplies so I can give the King of Darkness a lesson he will never forget," Link replied angrily. "Have any of you seen my boomerang?"

Kirby nodded and started helping Link gather his things. He crawled underneath Link's bed and three of the occupants of the room heard his screams of terror. Peach sighed and put her hand on Link's shoulder to try and calm him down. "Link, honey, Ganondorf hasn't done anything to Red. You just jumped to conclusions that we all know are rather ridiculous."

Link blushed again and dropped everything with a simple, "Oh."

The room was quiet for a moment, except for Kirby's screams of terror from under the bed. Lucario was the only one who looked concerned over the puffball's obvious fear. "Are we going to help Kirby at all? He sounds like something is trying to eat him down there."

Link turned and looked at his bed. "Well, I didn't think it was _that_ dirty under there," he said, reaching his arm underneath the bed and fishing for Kirby. After a few minutes of searching, he pulled out the coughing, wheezing puffball from underneath his bed. The others in the room looked slightly distressed over the puffballs condition, but were relieved when said puffball jumped up, reinvigorated, and waddled back to Peach's side.

"Anyways, as I was saying, we are concerned for Red," Samus reiterated. "He is so young you know? A year younger than you I believe. And we are wondering if he knows what is happening around here, and I would say that we are also all wondering how this is going to turn out for both of you."

"How what is going to turn out?" Link gulped.

Lucario rolled his eyes. "I think you know what we're talking about. Even you aren't that dumb."

"Lucario, that isn't very nice," Peach admonished, wagging her finger slightly, "Even if it is true. Now, Link, we all know exactly how you feel and you know that you should try and let Red know exactly how you feel about him. If you don't then someone else could swipe him up. I know that some of the other Smashers have been commenting on his looks."

Link almost looked furious again, before he sat down on his bed and put his head in his hands. "I know," he admitted quietly. "But I haven't had a good time to tell him. We've both been busy lately, and every time I try to tell him how I feel someone interrupts me. Then, yesterday, he came in the room when I was talking to Zelda and I think he thinks that I'm still going out with her, even though we broke up two years ago."

Lucario looked less than impressed. "Why do I feel like I'm in a crappy romance story?"

"Life is a crappy romance story," Peach interjected helpfully. "Anyways, the answer is simple then Link. We'll help you get ten minutes of uninterrupted Red time and then you can tell him how you feel."

"But," Link began. "But what if he doesn't feel the same way? Then I'll end up hurt and he'll feel awkward hanging around me. It'd be a disaster."

Samus sat on the bed next to Link and put an arm over his shoulders. "Then you will just have to make sure you're very convincing. That way, Red won't be able to reject you."

Down the hall, in Pit's closet, Red shivered. He could almost sense that something was going to happen and he knew that it wouldn't be good. Nothing ever turned out to be good when it came to the Smash Manor. He looked at his watch and contemplated going down to the mess hall for dinner. "It couldn't be a bad idea," He reasoned. His stomach growled in agreement and he slowly made his way out of the closet and into the hall way. The rest of the house appeared to be in the mess hall, so he would probably be safe going down the hall. He spotted a stray box or two, but made sure to give them each a wide berth and never gave them a second glance.

It wasn't until he reached Jigglypuff's room that he noticed the small pink Pokémon waiting for him. She was staring at him, and he could only wonder why she was waiting for him. The Pokémon generally avoided him like the plague, even with the good press that Charizard, Squirtle, and Ivysaur gave him. He stopped and stared at the small Pokémon as it reached for his hand and led him to the Pokémon sanctuary. He only glanced behind himself once, and saw that Pikachu was following behind them, almost as if to keep an eye on Jigglypuff and to make sure that Red didn't do anything nefarious. Once he reached the room, he noticed that the Pokémon were all gathered around something in the middle of the small plain where the gigantic Caterpie infested tree was.

Jigglypuff led him to the tree and he almost fainted where he stood. He couldn't believe his eyes. The Pokémon had brought him there to see Mew. The super rare pink Pokémon was floating around the tree, mewling happily while it flew with some Pidgey. Red started in awe. Mew was the rarest Pokémon to ever exist, and possibly the most powerful other than Mewtwo. Jigglypuff was almost amused with the look on Red's face as he stared at the legend floating around in front of him. The Pokémon was almost shocked that the trainer didn't pull out a master ball and capture the Pokémon that only appeared maybe once a millennia.

Squirtle ran over to its trainer's side and smiled widely at Red's shell-shocked expression and called out for Mew to come closer to Red. Mew squealed in happiness and approached the world famous trainer. It swirled around Red a few times before grabbing his cheeks and pulling them apart jokingly. He snapped out of his reverie and laughed. Mew cried out in happiness and tapped Red in the shoulder and ran away, clearly wanting to play tag. Red smiled and tapped Jigglypuff on the head, who in turn tagged Pikachu. In a few moments all of the Pokémon in the sanctuary were running around, trying to not be tagged.

Lucario stood off to the side and watched all of the merriment with a smile on his face. It was an endearing scene, even to someone as battle hardened as he was. "It seems that all of the Pokémon have accepted Red," he mused. "I'm glad."

Red was looking for a place to hide, Pikachu was on his tail and he knew that he couldn't outrun the small electric mouse. He ran to the tree and stopped when he thought he saw someone standing off by the door. He squinted to try and see who it was, but before he could get a good look Pikachu tackled him with a happy squeal. By the time he got up and looked back, the figure was gone and Red shrugged and continued playing with the Pokémon.

It was almost an hour later that it started getting dark and the game of tag was over. Mew had finally said goodbye (in its own special way) and left the Pokémon sanctuary. The Pokémon all started dispersing and going to bed for the night leaving Red alone with the five Pokémon Smash brothers. It seemed as though Pikachu and Jigglypuff were finally comfortable around Red and his three starters were all ecstatic to have two new friends. Red smiled and started leading the way back to the Smasher rooms.

Five minutes later, Lucario reemerged from the brush and headed for the tree that moments later had been base in a game of tag. He stood there and stared at the moon and eventually felt a presence of someone he knew and cherished come close to him. "Hello Mew, it sure has been a while hasn't it?"

The small pink Pokémon smiled and sat in the lowest branch of the tree, right next to Lucario and mewled softly in agreement. Lucario smiled and let the silence sweep over the both of them as they stared at the rising moon. "You know that trainer you met today? I'm helping him come to the realization of his love for another. Sound familiar?"

Mew giggled and nodded.

"I hope that it works out for him. He's had a tough life, even if he doesn't want to admit it."

Red crept into his room as quietly as he could. He knew it wasn't that late, but Link sometimes liked to go to bed early, and could get kind of cranky when woken. He knew he was going to be fine though, as soon as he saw Link sitting on his bed clearly waiting for Red to come. Red smiled at him and Link smiled back with a curious expression taking up his face.

"Hey Link, why aren't you asleep? Don't you usually try to go bed early?" Red asked looking at Link's jittering.

"Uh, well, usually I do like to go to bed early. But today I want to talk to you about something very important," Link took in a deep breath and tried to compose himself. "Red… I think that I'm in lo-"

"Where is he? Where is the Pokémon Trainer?"

Something was going on and it didn't sound like it was good. Link pushed Red behind him just as Ganondorf slammed the door open and charged into the room. There was an electric tension in the air as Ganondorf spotted Red hiding behind Link. Link met his evil gaze with one that matched in power and tenacity. Someone could possibly see the electricity in the room as Ganondorf to a slamming step forward and Link to an obvious step back, bringing Red with him.

"What do you want Ganondorf?" Link snarled.

Ganondorf sneered. "It's none of your concern. This is between him and me."

"If you mess with him, you mess with me," Link declared daringly. Red blushed slightly at Link's bold words.

"Whatever, I won't let a brat like you get in my way. Pokémon Trainer, I challenge you to a Brawl!"

His shout echoed into the hallway and down the stairs, causing the other smashers to come out of their rooms. They all rushed to Link and Red's room to see what the commotion was and saw Ganondorf and Link in an electric stare down with Red being held behind Link protectively. Peach, Samus and Pit rushed to the front and Peach and Pit had to hold Samus back from charging in and smashing Ganondorf.

"What gives you the right to challenge Red like that?" Link nearly shouted, glaring angrily at the green-skinned King of Evil.

"I believe that the rules of the tournament state that I may challenge anyone to a brawl so long as both parties understand that it will have no hold in their rankings in the tournament. And I want to prove, once and for all, that this brat is unfit to be a part of this tournament," Ganondorf stated smugly. "So step aside Hero."

"No," Link growled. "You have no right. If you want to fight someone so badly, why not fight me?"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger. Anyways, the other pairings, as you might have seen are going to be implied!Mew x Lucario, some PeachxSamus if you squint (I guess), MarthxRoy (that was in chapter 2), LinkxRed (of course), and I was thinking about implied!JigglypuffxKirby. Anyways, please drop a review. I would appreciate it. Truly.  
**


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